Network technology is spreading rapidly and the amount of systems acting as nodes in a communications network are increasing. The users of these nodes are changing from skilled technicians to computer users in small companies or private users in their homes.
There is an increasing need to provide users with possibilities to evaluate and compare network components without advanced knowledge in network communications.
Manufacturers of components used as nodes in a communications network, such as switches, routers, servers or access points and the like, usually measure performance variables that are considered relevant and list these in data sheets. The variables measured and presented vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, and it is often very hard to compare performance of two components from different manufacturers.
Various benchmarking techniques through which certain aspects of the performance of a network component can be evaluated are known.
Patent publication WO 02 51181 A1 shows a benchmark testing a network node in a radio communication network. The testing of the node pertains to load and stress testing.
Patent publication EP 0 849 911 A2 shows a method of monitoring a communications network comprising a plurality of node equipment.
The publication “Wireless LAN Access Points as Queuing Systems: Performance Analysis and Service Time”, by A1 Khatib et al, published 18 Dec. 2002, shows a way to measure various parameters of an access point in a communications network.